Crazy Nuns at Blairsden
Weird New Jersey magazine launched an all-out attack with urban legends about what went terribly wrong inside the Blairsden Estate in Peapack, New Jersey.
This article was originally posted on another site back in 2007. We thought it was time to revisit the issue and provide additional details, as the original article was published.
Before we get started, you have to read how the Blairsden Horror Phenomenon took hold. It began to take off when Weird New Jersey’s niche magazine published an article about the Blairsden estate in Peapack. With the internet and all, the story and rumors took off. Click Here to load the Weird NJ piece.
When I first wrote this, I had been working with a local historical society for over 13 years, and as the webmaster, I received email requests from the site. Hands down, the most popular request is from curious webbies looking to discover the truth about what happened at the Blairsden Mansion in Peapack. So, before you get all excited, perhaps you’d like to learn a little about the real history of Blairsden before we delve into some of the more unusual tales and current stories circulating on the internet and in local publications. But that’s no fun. So, let’s see what people have come up with.
In the Blairsden article (below) it mentions how the Nuns of Blairsden captured the devil and brought him across Raving Lake and enslaved him in the tomb.
This article draws on a wealth of information I’ve gathered over the years since living in the area. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to see Blairsden, but I’m one of those freaks who respect the law and won’t go over there to scout the property. True story, though, the one time I tried to do it with my daughter, it took a whopping 2 minutes for the local police to be right behind me, threatening to arrest me if I didn’t get off the land. (Geeze, I thought I was safe with my four-year-old with me- no dice).
There are alarm triggers around the waterfall on the Ravine Lake “rear entrance up the hillside. So why all the excitement about this place? From a historical perspective, not much happened there except it was one of the most iconic large-scale building projects ever in the area.
The most notable social activity was the marriage of Clinton Ledyard Blair’s four daughters on the estate. It’s also known that Blair dug up just about every boxwood tree within a fifty-mile radius and carted them up the mountain to the estate. The guy seemed to have a real ego problem (the biggest, mostest, largest… you get the idea). See, you can’t write this type of stuff on the official historical society site! But we can here!
Then there’s the locals. Over the years, I’ve received a bunch of funny stuff via email, and that’s just another reason to post this to a blog (so when you read this and you’ve got something to add, well, then just post a comment and tell your story).
Let’s start on YouTube. Over the years, YouTube has claimed that young filmmakers are trying to capitalize on the media buzz that followed the release of The Blair Witch Project. The filmmakers love the shaky camera, which evokes a sense of “seeing something” alongside weird or paranormal behavior. I caught these beauties about Blairsden on YouTube and had to laugh.
After that on, now there was this other budding film director who came up with this one (I have to admit it must have been a local cause there are a bunch of local scenes around Bernardsville, but I have to admit it was pretty funny (not to mention if I were a teen again, I’d be all over this Blairsden tale as well)!
So, with videos like these two, how can the authorities expect anything less than a bunch of kids going up the mountain for a thrill, or historical buffs climbing the backside to see what was once the “grandest of grand” Beaux-Arts estate?
I can hardly blame them. Can you?
Funny thing. I was at a local historical presentation when a lifelong resident (John Smith) asked me questions about Blairsden. He asked the audience how many had been to (or inside) the estate, and about three-quarters of the audience raised their hands! Geeze I thought, “I’ve been wanting to get into this place for years, and look at everyone who’s already been there! Holy Crap!”. The funny thing is that John was also pushing to get into Blairsden at the time, but without any luck.
See, both of Blairsden’s neighbors have open access. You’ve got Natirar, pronounced NAT-arrrr-R, a recent purchase by the Somerset County Parks Commission for twenty-something million, and a subsequent lease of the estate out to Sir Richard Branson from England, who’s going to create a monster health spa and restaurant on the current grounds.
Conversely, you have the Matheny Rehab Facility for patients with CP. The Matheny Center was part of the Blairsden Estate, and the Carriage Barn is a building they use today.
So, back to Blairsden. While the back gate (located off Lake Road) remains closed, and the front gate (located off Peapack Road) in Peapack is also shut, there is no easy access to the estate. That changed in 2012 when the estate was reopened and the front entrance was restored. In the winter, you can travel up and around Ravine Lake and get a pretty good view of the estate from up the hill.
In 2012, the local real estate company Turpin Realtors listed the estate for sale. It sold in 2014 for just over .5 million. There were supposedly two guys, yes two guys (don’t ask me if they’re gay either, cause I don’t know), who bought the estate from the Sisters of St. John the Baptist, the same ones who have a lock on the Mosley estate up the Road that was recently sold to Morris County (geeze these Government Agencies know how to spend our tax dollars don’t they!).
The new owners were working under an organization called “The Foundation for Classical Architecture” and later the Blairsden, LLC. I’ve tried to research this and have come up empty. Although it may be just a front organization or holding company, could you please let me know if anyone has any information on the group? I’ve been told unofficially that it is a “holding company”, but I cannot confirm. In the meantime, it remains private property, and you’ll be stopped if you try to enter. So, those who keep sending email requests to lease Blairsden for a wedding or a paranormal session, you’re out of luck.
While the Blairsden Estate has changed hands since 2010, it remains in private ownership.
I love the stories that come with the history of the Blairsden estate. Anything from Sisters that devil worshiped and killed the orphans that were living in the house to gardeners that went wild and killed the nuns, and then the kids (poor kids always get the bad end of the stick). I do hate to disappoint, but there are no records of anyone getting killed in or around the estate. Sorry. Doesn’t work well for selling more tickets to the Blair Witch Project (which also has nothing to do with Blairsden- but everyone wants to think it does).
Another story that locals tell is the story of a Mother Superior driven mad by an undefined ancient evil force residing somewhere in the area. After she murdered everyone at the commune, those who fled escaped to the harsh winter New Jersey environment around the lake. She disappeared into the woods, never to be seen again. Others say she eventually found her way back to the mansion, although she was somehow different, changed by the force she had contacted and forever now living in the deeply furrowed veil between the real and the unreal. They blame the Devil’s Tomb.
I laugh when I bring my kids by “The Devil’s Tomb.” They all point out that they know something that no one else does and giggle. They snicker until I pull the car over and say, “Wanna get out and go touch it?” Then their faces change immediately, and they all say with a quiet whimper, “No Thanks”. That’s the best part!!! But they are learning their history, and I believe that stories like this deserve a place in history. While it’s great for blogs, which is the reason for writing, it’s not well-received by local historical societies, who tend to frown upon such stories.
I did write another story about what’s known as the Devil’s Tomb and Jacob’s Ladder (two other local devilish stories). I think the nuns of Blairsden caught the devil himself and dragged him over and up Jacob’s Ladder to the current site of the Devil’s Tomb.
Such is life.
Now, once you’ve gotten your dose of devils and nuns gone haywire, venture over and read the real story and history of Blairsden. We have videos of the estate (both interior and exterior), so go take a look. It’s like a narrated walking tour.
Click the image below that will take you to the Mr Local History Video Channel on YouTube:
If you have any stories you’d like to share, feel free to post a comment below or email us. Below are just a few that were emailed in.
View Comments
Kristie Lombardo wrote:
Good Lord. I find that story hard to believe. I went to MSJA, as a boarding student from 7th grade all the way through High School and graduated from there in 1981. Although I hated the school, mainly because my mom dumped me there so she could travel with her wealthy new husband, the nuns never mistreated us. Some were nasty and sharp tongued mainly because they were frustrated, but never ever abusive. Most were kind and loving and felt sorry for us boarders.
Although I wasn’t happy when I was there, I made lifelong friends and look upon the experience as a somewhat pleasant one. The stories about Jacobs Ladder and Devils whatever are ridiculous.
The Sister Aurora I knew was a kind elderly harmless nun who ran the kitchen and cooked us meals. I cannot fathom that this was the same monster that was described in the previous post.
Funny story, my friends and I used to raid the kitchen at night and steal food. One night we stole a gallon of ice cream and took it up to our dorm room. We heard one of the nuns coming and my friend took the ice cream and chucked it out of the open window. The next day, when we were saying the Pledge of Allegiance, we looked out the window and there was the gallon of icecream stuck in the tree. We couldn’t stop laughing. Oh the memories!
Monica Casey wrote:
n the mid-1960’s, I was a boarding student at Mt. St. John Academy in Gladstone, NJ (the Mosley estate?) The Blairsden Estate was then known as St. Joseph’s Villa. Living at the Villa were wealthy, elderly women who, we students had heard, lived half of the year at the Villa and the other half in Italy. Rumor had it that this arrangement had something to do with the women, all widows I believe, not being citizens of the U.S.
Also living at the Villa were aspirants. Aspirants were very young girls, age 12 to 18, who thought they may want to become nuns. These girls dressed in what were commonly known as postulant’s habits; postulants were (are?) the first of three tiers to becoming a full on nun. The aspirants were driven each morning to Mt. St. John Academy to attend school by a nun named Sister Loyola. Loyola drove them to and fro in a very long station wagon looking automobile – I believe the nuns got the vehicle from some airlines. They were a crafty bunch of women!
In my Junior year, my class, including day students, was forced to go on a three day retreat to St. Joseph’s Villa. Ordinarily, the religious retreats were held at school and lasted for the duration of the school day. For some reason unbeknownst to us students, the good nuns decided to hold it at the Villa. We all packed a suitcase and headed to the Villa. It was a most unusual experience; one I’ve never forgotten.
The room I stayed in was set up like a small dorm room. There were 4 or 6 of us in it. The room was wallpapered in a small flower pattern. In the middle of the wall was a glass door knob that led through two doors to our bathroom. It took us a while to find it.
We were what many considered the rowdy, delinquent bunch in the class and we had a blast at the Villa. The building was most curious. For example, in the main parlor, there were secret passageways on one or both sides of the huge fireplace. As I recall, the room was painted a very light teal.
The priest who led the retreat was a whack job. He was probably in his mid 50’s, with steel gray hair, not bad looking at all. His favorite topic was impure thoughts. He was encouraging the girls to “whip up those impure thoughts!” He told us that as a child he had a stutter and overcame it through prayer and public speaking. Also, I think he told us that he never stuttered when he sang. In any event, it turned out he tried to make out with two of the girls. That storm really gathered strength when it came to light that the poor man had been transferred by some holy person in power at the offices of the diocese or archdiocese to working with girls because he’d had “troubles” with boys. It was the least religious retreat I’d ever been on and as a result, it became one of my friends and my favorites memories of high school life.a- ase>a/ as wrh lifuDhd/nd-wad/nlbnlea/ nn on and as a result, it beceeturibouble>oawasth bng. Alsrt>no/nse ob it albnlwrh naking. Also, I think he te2 kobec-uIesndb9wasnd 2wNib one >o Alsbeebed to mrt>no/n relbdb9wa 2wIteue-ucrh nt bkn-erbacgra bng.rhe kootr�-an-dnob,dl-ob and 2nt abouble>oawanSn-ernd 2nkn. Ae>oawanSn-end-wadobed/SSo-bac e VSn onhink he te2lo/nd-nlcnon in power aoanSnas ol-ob and 2nt aglboocnkoouIesnd"eanoweyo wr-anshi nakine of mkoog9an-eae>oawan naknnknwrh nau ao.t>nnds and myhinkcn-e/se2awae te,rs cat ndbnlbonau ao.t>n-errs snaurib i ueeeb uib-ucrh>o.t>nansbemoriesrt>no/nesndbrt>no2nt ab-nlcnon in a- no2 bnsn>no2nn in a- ebknSoootko-dt /se2n>ngh s9/nSn-nk 9uP/ wrht nywa
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